


To Distract Our Hearts

by BisexualHannibalLecter



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, M/M, Metaphors, Past Character Death, Season/Series 02, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24978331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BisexualHannibalLecter/pseuds/BisexualHannibalLecter
Summary: Will catches Hannibal smoking. The ensuing conversation is more than either of them expected that day.
Relationships: Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 20
Kudos: 205





	To Distract Our Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be funny but then it got all sad and metaphorical. 
> 
> Title comes from the song "Youth" by Daughter.

It had been a very spur of the moment decision to visit Hannibal. Will was in Baltimore to see Jack about a case, and he knew Hannibal wouldn’t be taking patients today, so he decided to go see him as soon as his meeting with Jack was over. 

Calling ahead hadn’t occurred to him. The worst case scenario would be that Hannibal wasn’t there when Will arrived, or that Will could possibly walk in on Hannibal in the middle of something. Will couldn’t think of a single thing that the other man could do at this point that would surprise him, though. With the knowledge of his _eating habits_ , surely there was no shocking secret facet of Hannibal’s personality left.

Or so Will thought.

Will pulled into the driveway and parked behind Hannibal’s own car, a sure sign that he was indeed home, and made his way to the front door. He knocked once, then twice, but there was no answer. Upon twisting the handle, Will found the door to be unlocked, so he let himself in. 

Will assumed Hannibal wouldn’t mind, given the odd space they’d fallen into between levels of relationships; not quite friends, but not quite more. Few unsaid words and unacted urges stood between them crossing that line, but so did many mistakes and differences. Will wondered when the thread holding the sword over their heads would finally snap.

He shakes away those thoughts and shuts the door, not bothering to lock it behind him. There’s no need for locking doors when you’re with the scariest thing in Baltimore.

Will makes his way to the dining room, and, upon finding it empty, heads into the kitchen. This space, too, is unoccupied, and shows no signs of being used at the moment. Will only shrugs and moves on, deciding to continue searching the ground floor before moving upstairs. He finds himself moving through the living room and down a hall, finding a guest bathroom, a guest bedroom, and a hall closet, leaving him with only one more door located on the other end of the foyer from the living room entrance. Will could only guess it was another bathroom, or perhaps some sort of storage room.

Will opens the door and finds himself in a home office of sorts. There’s a desk in the center of the room, and filled bookshelves line the walls on either side of him. There’s a window situated at eye level on the back wall, the curtains drawn and the pane pushed up.

Nothing about this is out of the ordinary, except for the fact that Hannibal is leaning against the sill and smoking a cigarette. 

Will watches as Hannibal inhales slowly, and his eyes follow the motion of his chest, noticing that Hannibal is only wearing a partially unbuttoned shirt on the top half of his body. Will’s eyes flick back up when Hannibal exhales, the smoke floating out the open window. Will continues to watch as Hannibal flicks the ashes into a clear ashtray sat on the window sill before taking another drag.

Hannibal exhales again, then says, “I’ve heard pictures last longer.”

Will clears his throat, suddenly aware of how dry his mouth is.

“So will your lungs if you put that down,” he says, walking across the room.

“Bella never smoked,” Hannibal replies.

Will frowns and snatches the cigarette from Hannibal’s hand, earning an indignant noise in response. Will raises the cigarette to his lips.

“That was rude, Will,” he says, watching the other man intently.

Will raises a brow and blows the smoke right in Hannibal’s face. “So was bringing up Jack’s dying wife like that.”

Hannibal’s eyes widen at the action, but as quickly as the emotion appears, it is replaced by indifference. Hannibal’s gaze moves back to the window and he raises a hand to fan the smoke out the window.

Will flicks the ashes into the tray before handing the cigarette back to Hannibal.

“So, what’s the reason behind your new habit, Doctor Lecter?” Will asks, gazing out the window as well.

“It’s not new,” Hannibal replies. “I picked it up when I was in boarding school.”

“It’s not something you do often,” Will shoots back. “I’ve never seen nicotine stains on your teeth or your fingers, and you never smell like smoke.”

“Perhaps I am as good at covering this up as I am with the other recreational activities I indulge in,” he suggests.

Will shakes his head. “My dad smoked like a fucking chimney, I’d know if you did it every day. You don’t have the time to smoke every day and change clothes between every smoke break. You also never smell like too much cologne or body spray like people do when they try to cover it up.”

“The scent is quite obvious, I’ll admit.” He hums and takes another drag. “I can see how you might notice my teeth, but my hands? When would you be looking at them, Will?”

Will can see Hannibal’s teasing smile from the corner of his eye and he coughs, trying to push aside the thoughts he’s had while staring at Hannibal’s hands as he draws or cooks. Now isn’t the time.

“I notice people. I take in a lot of stray details about them.” Will shrugs. “Just happens. Like you said, I can’t turn off what I do any more than you can.”

“Fair enough,” Hannibal replies, passing the cigarette back to Will.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Will reminds him, taking the cigarette. “Why are you smoking?”

Hannibal lapses into silence, and Will resigns himself to the idea that he won’t be getting an answer out of Hannibal any time soon. Will glances over to him, noticing Hannibal’s hand is gripping the window sill, and that his thumb is moving back and forth along the wood. Hannibal’s thumb stills, and the nail presses into the window sill, leaving behind a small crescent-shaped mark. Will’s eyes drift, and he finds several identical marks. He hadn’t noticed Hannibal doing this before, so he assumes the other marks must be old.

Will switches hands, now holding the cigarette in his left hand, and lays his right hand on the window sill just a few inches from Hannibal’s own. He keeps his gaze on the scenery outside the window, knowing that watching Hannibal, no matter how patiently, will only discourage him.

He will wait to look at Hannibal until Hannibal is ready to be seen.

A couple of minutes later, Will feels Hannibal’s hand rest in his, slowly lacing their fingers together. It was yet another small, tentative step towards that line; another inch closer that the sword grew to them as the thread began to stretch and give way.

Another bout of silence, and then Hannibal spoke again.

“I am… distressed,” he says.

Will squeezes Hannibal’s hand.

“Thinking about her distresses me,” he continues. Hannibal closes his eyes. “Today would have been her birthday.”

It is then that everything falls into place for Will. While he didn’t know much about Hannibal’s background, he did know about how he lost his sister Mischa, and he knew that her loss affected him deeply. Smoking was certainly the least extreme way he had witnessed Hannibal go about coping with it.

Without looking at him, Will offers Hannibal the cigarette back. Hannibal doesn’t take it.

“I shouldn’t,” he says.

Will nods and puts the cigarette out, leaving the remains in the ashtray.

“What else calms you when you’re distressed?” Will asks softly.

Hannibal considers Will’s question for a moment, before saying, “This.”

“Let me know when the effect wears off.”

Hannibal squeezes his hand. “And if it does not?”

“Then I suppose I have the rest of the day booked,” Will replies.

An impossibly warm feeling overcomes Hannibal. The comfort, _real comfort_ , feels like far too unfamiliar a notion to truly be a pleasant one, but he doesn't let go of Will’s hand.

“Will,” he says, rubbing his thumb along the back of Will’s hand. “Will, look at me.”

Will turns his head and locks eyes with Hannibal. He tries not to seem shocked by the obvious sadness in Hannibal’s eyes, or the desperation in his voice when he continues speaking.

“Stay with me,” he requests softly, drawing himself closer to Will, nearly eliminating the small bit of space left between them.

Will only smiles. “Where else would I go?”

Hannibal closes the distance between them, kissing Will chastely.

Will stops short of teasing Hannibal for the impolite action of kissing someone without asking first. They had just taken a step forward, and one false move could mean two steps back.

Instead, he reaches up slowly, making sure his hand is within Hannibal’s view as it moves to cup his cheek. Will waits, watching for signs of discomfort, and finds none. All he sees is surprise and delight as Hannibal leans into the touch, turning his head a bit to press a kiss to Will’s palm.

Will smiles and gently guides Hannibal’s head forward until they’re kissing again.

This time, when Hannibal breaks the kiss, he doesn’t pull all the way back. He rests his forehead against Will’s and wraps his free arm around the other man, keeping him close, as if he would disappear if he let him get too far away.

They kiss again, and again, and again, until the sun begins to set. As it falls from its place above them, so does the sword. Hannibal tilts his head, kissing Will deeply, and they finally find themselves firmly situated on the other side of the line.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this story please leave a kudos! Comments are super appreciated! If you want to find/follow/friend me on other platforms, here are my usernames! Don’t be shy! 
> 
> @bisexywill on Tumblr (Main Blog)  
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> @bisexywill on Twitter (Writing Updates & Stuff)  
> @baby mongoose#6953 on Discord


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